The new BMW M4 Coupe made its North American debut at the 2014 Detroit Auto Show->ke222 and while we were busy gawking over it, BMW ->ke178 engineers took the M4 convertible version out for some cold weather testing in Sweden.
The prototype->ke146 caught testing is still heavily camouflaged, which seems pretty odd because the M4 Convertible->ke4183 shouldn't look any different than the coupe->ke141 version; well, except when you drop the retractable hard top.
Under its hood, the M4 Convertible will borrow the 3.0-liter, in-line six-cylinder engine from its coupe sibling that delivers 425 horsepower between 5,500 and 7,300 rpm and 406 pound-feet of torque between 1,850 and 5,500 rpm. Performance figures should be within a few tenths of a second of the coupe's numbers -- the extra few tenths are due to the additional weight from the convertible hardware.
Expect the BMW M4 Convertible to be unveiled in the upcoming months.
Spy shots
The prototype caught today by our spy photographers wears lots of camouflage, but even so, everyone knows that the M4 Convertible will look identical to the coupe version -- except the retractable top, of course.
Up front the M4 Convertible will get an M-designed front apron with large air intakes, twin headlights with optional LED technology and a power-dome hood. The rear will get an integrated rear spoiler made from carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic and a redesigned trunk lid. Another distinctive M element will be the new exhaust system with high-gloss polished twin tailpipes.
The first details on the BMW M4 Coupe were unveiled on December 5th, 2013 with a few days before the car's official debut in Gran Turismo 6. The model comes to replace the old M3 coupe and will be offered with the same design language as the recently launched M3 sedan.
What's very cool on the M4 Coupe is the carbon-fiber roof that will help reducing total weight by about 11 pounds. Unfortunately, on the convertible version however, the carbon fiber roof will be replaced by a soft-top roof that should open and close in a mater of seconds.
Under the hood the M4 Coupe gets a 3.0-liter, in-line six-cylinder engine that delivers a total of 425 horsepower between 5,500 and 7,300 rpm and 406 pound-feet of torque between 1,850 and 5,500 rpm. The engine is mated to a standard six-speed manual gearbox, while a third-generation seven-speed M Double Clutch Transmission is offered as an alternative.
The BMW M4 Coupe sprints from 0 to 60 mph in 4.1 seconds with the six-speed manual transmission and in 3.9 seconds with the optional seven-speed M Double Clutch Transmission, while top speed is limited to 155 mph.
BMW M4 Coupe Rendering
With the BMW M4 Coupe in our mind, it was pretty easy to imagine how the convertible version will look like. Just remove the roof and voila!